Special needs

Wolverines use subalpine and alpine forests for foraging and steep, snowy habitat above the timberline for dens. Conservation-focused land use planning is essential in lowland valleys to allow for movement between high-elevation refugia.

Limiting factors

Wolverines have large area requirements, naturally low densities, and low reproductive rates. They are sensitive to habitat fragmentation, roads, and human activity.

Conservation actions

Manage winter recreational use to avoid impacts to wolverines.

Strategy Spotlight: Wolverine Captured on Video

Researcher captures video of wolverine in Wallowa County

In April 2011, five days after discovering wolverine tracks in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeast Oregon, researcher Audrey Magoun downloaded photos of two wolverines from a remote camera. It was the first confirmation of wolverines in Wallowa County. Before that, they were the stuff of legend, rumor and unconfirmed sightings.

Slogging through the mud and snow that April day on her way to retrieve the winter’s field cameras, Magoun admits she had almost given up hope of documenting wolverine presence that season. “But the habitat was right. I just felt they had to be here.”

And they were—three males had been snapped by field cameras at bait stations.

Encouraged by last year’s results, Magoun and her husband and research partner, Pat Valkenburg, were back in the area in the winter of 2011-12, working on foot, by air and with field cameras trying to relocate the males they had detected the previous winter and hoping to find a female.

To date, Magoun has captured images of only one of the males sighted last year. “He gets around,” she said. “He’s shown up on 10 of the 26 cameras I have out there, and I got some good video of him as well.”

Although there are no signs of a female so far, Magoun is still looking. “This male covers a lot of ground. I’m not willing to say he’s lonesome yet.” With cameras still active high in snow country, she is hopeful that there is a lot more to learn about wolverines in the Wallowas.

Dr. Magoun’s research is funded by The Wolverine Foundation, Oregon Wildlife (Heritage Foundation) and the U.S. Forest Service. The U.S. National Park Service donated cameras and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife provides snowmobiles, equipment and logistical support.

All information on this website is considered DRAFT pending USFWS approval.